No. 27: Paletas from Nevería Flor de México

​Welcome to the Weekly's list of our 100 Favorite Dishes for 2011. Tune in every day until we get to número uno! Now, on to the latest entry.

My apologies for the spate of entries here that are more a species than an actual entity, but some places perfect a particular genre to the point that any choice is spectacular, and all you really have to do is figure out what you're jonesing for on a particular day.

Just look at the picture above, from Stanton's Nevería Flor de México. Don't they all look like deliverance from today's hellish temperatures? That's because they are.It doesn't matter if you go for a paleta de agua (ones made from aguas frescas), or those made con leche (milk, fruit and other goodies), they're all equally refreshing, equally made that day and from fresh produce--no concentrates, no fakery, no a la piratería (an inside joke for the five wabs that read this blog). I usually find myself gravitating toward the paleta de nuez--made from walnuts and almond milk, with chopped walnuts strewn throughout the frozen block), but sometimes I want the tartness of a paleta de limón; other times, something creamier with an horchata paleta. It doesn't matter--sign up these Mexicans to fight our infernal heat.